Title: Search in OpenBSD packages with openports.pl | |
Author: Solène | |
Date: 21 October 2022 | |
Tags: openbsd | |
Description: | |
# Intro | |
This blog post aims to be a quick clarification about the website | |
openports.pl: an online database that could be used to search for | |
OpenBSD packages and ports available in -current. | |
openports.pl website | |
# The setup | |
The software used by openports.pl is the package ports-readmes-dancer | |
which uses the sqlite database from the sqlports package. | |
The host is running OpenBSD -current through snapshots, it tries twice | |
a day to upgrade when possible, and regularly try to upgrade all | |
packages, so it's as fresh as it can be through snapshots. | |
# What does this mean? | |
The data displayed on openports.pl are accurate because it's directly | |
derived from packages by packaged software you can run on your local | |
system. | |
# Sponsor | |
While I manage this website, the system is hosted at OpenBSD.Amsterdam | |
for free 🙏 and they also pay for the domain name. | |
OpenBSD Amsterdam official website | |
The program packaged in ports-readmes-dancer has been created by | |
espie@, it's using a Perl web framework named Dancer. It's open source | |
software and you can contribute to it if you want to enhance | |
openports.pl itself | |
ports-readmes-dancer GitHub project page | |
For security reasons, as it's running "too much" unaudited code server | |
side, it's not possible to host it in the OpenBSD infrastructure under | |
the domain .openbsd.org. | |
# Reliable alternatives | |
The main alternative is OpenBSD.app, a website but also a command line | |
tool, using sqlports package as a data source, and it supports -stable | |
and -current. | |
OpenBSD.app | |
I wrote a GUI application named AppManager (the package name is | |
appmanager) that allows to view all packages available for the running | |
OpenBSD version, and install/remove them. It also has surprisingly | |
effective heuristic to tell if search results are GUI/CLI/other | |
programs. | |
Blog post about AppManager |